The consumption of beverages while operating a motor vehicle is fairly common for the average motorist. This is particularly true when travelling distances are extreme. However, the driver is often confronted with the dilemma of manually supporting an opened container or placing it in an upright orientation somewhere within the interior of the vehicle. Continuous manual support of the beverage container can be particularly difficult, especially when operating a vehicle which often requires two-hands to operate. On the other hand, holding the container between their legs, placing it on the floor or between the driver and passenger seats creates opportunities for spillage and driver inattentiveness when the vehicle hits large road aberrations or the driver makes sharp turns or stops.
One way to overcome these problems is to provide a beverage container holder which supports the container in an upright orientation, thereby eliminating the need for continuous manual support by the operator. Vehicle manufactures have realized this problem and have begun offering container holders as standard equipment.
OEM or aftermarket holders, however, typically include receiving wells formed and dimensioned to provide substantial perimetric and lateral support to only certain containers of a predetermined diameter. For example, most holders are dimensioned to securely support the common 12 oz. aluminum can. Beverage containers having a diameter less than the maximum predetermined diameter, or having a transverse cross-sectional geometry inconsistent with the general cylindrical shape, tend to be easily knocked over by the vehicle occupants, slide around in the receiving well and/or tip over under normal driving conditions. Typical devices of this nature are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,681,219 to Kitchens; and 4,738,423 to DiFilippo et al..
In an attempt to provide container holders capable of perimetrically and laterally supporting a variety of different diameter and/or cross-sectional dimension containers, these holders have sometimes been provided with two-tier or multiple-tier receiving wells. For example, the receiving well may have included two different diameter cylindrical wells aligned concentrically. The smaller diameter receiving well would extend deeper into a base of the container holder while the larger diameter receiving well would be positioned concentrically above the smaller diameter well. Accordingly, those containers substantially conforming to the smaller diameter well would extend downwardly therein and be substantially supported, circumferentially, while those containers of a larger diameter would need to be retained in the larger diameter well. The containers not substantially conforming to either the smaller or larger diameter well would be presented with the same support problems as the above-mentioned single diameter container holders. That is, these containers would be easily knocked over, slide around in the receiving well and/or tip over under normal driving conditions. Typical of this design may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,721,216 to Kinder.
Other attempts to provide container holders for vehicles capable of receiving a variety of different and/or cross-sectional dimension containers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 541,864 to Loomis; 4,783,037 to Flowerday and 4,765,581 to Wallace et al.. These three references, however, are mechanically complex, requiring the cooperation of numerous moving and stationary parts to adapt to differing diameter containers. These references, further, often require two hands when inserting or withdrawing the container from the holder; a practice of which can be distracting for the vehicle operator, his passengers and other motorists. In addition, these references require structures capable of vertical support to carry the weight of the container and its contents thereon. Moreover, Flowerday and Wallace do not provide substantial perimetric and lateral support to the container and are best suited to retain only cylindrical-shaped containers. Loomis, in comparison, only provides substantial perimetric and lateral support to rectangular containers which have a predetermined width.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,600 to Lee discloses an insulated cup holder having a flexible base portion formed to be placed on uneven surfaces. Lee provides an annular member dimensioned to receive a cup and having plurality of evenly spaced, radially-inwardly directed cup-supporting fingers. These fingers contact the perimeter of the cup to centrally position it in the receiving well so that an insulating area of dead air space surrounds the cup. These fingers, however, provide very limited capability to accommodate different container diameters and/or cross-sectional dimensions. Moreover, this device also requires two hands to insert or withdraw the container from the holder; unless the fit is very loose.